Chapter 176 - [Manhwa chapter 150 — Season 2 end]
[Manhwa chapter 150 — Season 2 end]
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Guffin's Gate (3)
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“So the current leader of that faction is Chief Kadum.”
Shirone recalled the two types of gazes he had felt at the banquet. The elders who welcomed the Unlocker were likely the Pro-Angel Faction, and those who stared at him with disdain were the Anti-Angel Faction.
By that classification, the chief's father, Hasid, was of the Anti-Angel Faction. And so was Mahatu.
“Chief Kadum is ruining the Kergo. It's ironic for me, a smuggler of Rupe, to say this, but I believe we shouldn't entrust the fate of our tribe to a messenger of God. I am, in fact, of the Anti-Angel lineage, originally fated to be a slave. You must have heard about the human tourism perpetrated by the Galliante Autonomous Government. Most of the victims were from the Anti-Angel Faction. My mother was also abducted by outsiders.”
Amy decided to let go of the lingering resentment she held toward Mahatu. If his parents had suffered such a fate, his hostility toward outsiders was understandable.
“A hundred years ago, the Kergo tribe was shaken by the infiltration of civilization. As the Galliante Autonomous Government began hunting humans, the fury of the Anti-Angel Faction intensified. It felt like a third civil war was about to break out, and our ruin seemed inevitable. But there was one who turned it all around. The one who designed the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice to prevent the indiscriminate journey to Heaven, thus ending the civil war. That person was Lady Miro.”
Shirone recalled Miro's appearance. He had felt an eerie chill from her eyes, which seemed to reflect intense emotional shifts. But before he entered Miro's spacetime, she had been a humane person.
“Truthfully, conflict still exists even now. But it's much better compared to back then. It's all thanks to Lady Miro. If not for her, I too would have been nothing more than a mere slave.”
“Where is Miro now?”
Shirone knew she was staying in Istas's intermediate dimension. But on the other hand, he felt she might exist everywhere.
“After designing the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice, Lady Miro entered Guffin's Gate. I wasn't there, but I heard she left word that she was going to meet Guffin.”
Amy asked with a puzzled expression.
“Wait a minute. Wasn't Guffin someone from 250 years ago? How could she meet him?”
“That, I do not know. But it was clearly recorded as such.”
Shirone considered it entirely possible.
Installing Guffin's Gate meant he was an Unlocker who could wield Scale Magic. If Miro's strength was in space, could Guffin's have been in time?
He was reminded of Armin, the Eternal Meditator. He too had used Stop magic to contemplate for over 100 years, so it wouldn't be strange if Guffin were also alive in some way. Hadn't even the great mage Arcane survived for 150 years on his biological abilities alone?
Canis had no interest in Miro. But the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice she designed was a crucial clue in deciding whether to go to Heaven.
“Then where are the people who passed through Miro's spacetime waiting? Now that Shirone is here, shouldn't they be going together?”
Hearing that, Shirone became curious as well.
The people who had proven their strength in Miro's spacetime. If they were still here, he might be able to get more clues.
“Whether they accompany you is a matter for the messenger of God to decide, but there is no one here at present. The last team left for Heaven two years ago and never returned.”
Two years ago was a shock. People were heading to Heaven more frequently than expected.
The reason Kadum had hidden this fact was because he was of the Pro-Angel Faction. He wanted more people to go to Heaven.
Amy asked another question.
“All the Kergo believe in Ra, don't they? So how could a faction opposing the angels have formed?”
“I am also of the Anti-Angel Faction, but I don't know how the first civil war started. Most of the records were lost in the volcanic eruption 500 years ago. We call it the Lost Record. Frankly, we don't even know if the volcanic eruption was the work of the angels. It's just a story that has been passed down.”
Mahatu's story influenced their judgment. Even if there was a way back, it was a matter that required caution. They couldn't even begin to guess what kind of place Heaven was.
“If you still decide to go… I will not stop you. No, I have no way to stop you. But I want you to know this. All those who have passed through Miro's spacetime until now were stronger than me.”
Mahatu had spoken indirectly, but it ultimately meant they were stronger than Shirone's party. And even people like that had failed to return from Heaven.
In the heavy atmosphere, Shirone's group was lost in thought. Mahatu, realizing his sincerity had been conveyed, bowed his head.
“I respect Sir Shirone's will, which is not swayed by offerings. You must have come here with some purpose beyond common worldly desires. That is why I felt I had to tell you the truth. Whatever choice you make is not my place to interfere, but please, judge with caution.”
“Yes. We've learned some important information. Thank you.”
Silence fell after Mahatu left the room.
Heaven was still alluring, but no one tried to persuade Shirone.
Shirone's insight was correct. Only Shirone could decide, and the others had no choice but to follow.
“The Headmaster… just how much did he know?”
The person who came to mind at the end of his thoughts was Alpheas. Knowing that Shirone was an Unlocker, why had he told him about the Kergo ruins?
“He probably knows at least as much as we do, don't you think? You said Miro was the Headmaster's student. He must have heard about her activities.”
“Then why did he allow it? What if the reality we're facing is something beyond the Headmaster's expectations? If so, what choice should I make?”
“That's also a problem. I don't know how much he anticipated, but maybe he thought you wouldn't go to Heaven? I would think so too. In the end, the problem is…”
Canis said, tossing a Metagate.
“That I was the variable.”
Alpheas hadn't anticipated Canis's existence. Even if he had, he would never have dreamed that they would find a way back.
Now, all that was left was the choice.
First, the fact that there was an exit was a positive. As long as it wasn't a world filled with toxic gas, they wouldn't die the moment they arrived.
Thinking about it this way, it seemed foolish not to even try. However, not knowing how human psychology would act as a variable, he couldn't overlook the worst-case scenario of losing the chance to return.
Shirone couldn't fall asleep until dawn.
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The next morning, Shirone's party descended into the temple's basement. Chief Kadum led the way, with Hasid and Mahatu following behind.
Amy thought this must be the secret area of the ruins that had been impossible to explore with the Spirit Zone.
When they reached the lowest level, a straight passage stretched out before them, bearing traces of the volcanic eruption. Jewels embedded along the walls guided their path.
Opening an iron door, they entered a cavern. Priests stood along the walls, and in the center stood a solitary stone gate. The sight of the gate, unconnected to anything, made it impossible to deny the existence of Heaven.
Shirone arrived at the gate.
Guffin's Gate. The entrance to Heaven, reborn 250 years ago by the Unlocker, McClain Guffin. A red orb was embedded in it, and a vertical slit was carved from its center.
Before coming here, he had already finalized his contract with Kadum. His demand was simple. He was to go to Ingris, the Angels' Archive, and convey the will of Kadum, chief of the Kergo.
The Angels' Archive. Kadum had said it wouldn't be difficult since it wasn't a journey to reach God himself, but all Shirone could think was that whether it was gods or angels, it was an impossible mission.
Shirone met his friends' eyes. They would be able to return. Maybe. Having decided to go, he had no choice but to try and think easy.
When Amy nodded, Shirone placed his hand on the orb in the center of the gate.
The moment he took a deep breath and opened his Immortal Function, a white flash erupted from the orb.
“Oh, ooooh!”
Voices of awe could be heard. Even Mahatu, from the Anti-Angel Faction, was on his knees, chanting "Anke La."
Shirone focused his power even more.
It wasn't a simple stone wall as he had first thought. The scratches on the gate, which he had thought were marks of time, began to glow red, revealing themselves as undecipherable magic runes.
As the magic took effect, the stone wall began to break apart into dice-sized cubes.
The pieces, dismantling without regard for gravity, crumbled into fine dust and were finally absorbed by the light.
A white radiance burst from the gate and swallowed Shirone.
“Guffin's Gate has opened! Praise the angels!”
The priests prostrated themselves and chanted "Anke La."
Shirone couldn't hear their voices. Engulfed in the radiance, all he could hear was the sound of his own heart beating.
For the first time, he felt afraid. It was just one step, but it was a distance of eons. He didn't want to move.
A strong, warm hand touched his shoulder. It was Rian.
*Right, I'm not alone.* Rian would never give up, no matter the situation.
Tess's delicacy, Amy's brilliance, Canis's defense, and Arin's mental fortitude. Even Harvest was now a reliable ally.
*Isn't this a great party?* His tension eased a little.
Shirone stepped into the gate.
As Shirone's party left the altar, the white radiance coalesced into gray particles, and the stone wall began to restore itself.
The floating cubes found their respective places and finished assembling, and the magic runes faded.
No one stood where the stone wall had closed.
The cavern was silent.
@
Shirone gritted his teeth. Dazzling, multicolored lights were racing all around him.
*What's waiting at the end of this? No, is there even an end?* The dizzying melody of light didn't disappear even when he closed his eyes.
As if he had become a cannonball shot from a barrel, his vision suddenly opened up.
The feelings of the party were all the same. They could only hope it wasn't a world of burning sulfur.
The first impression wasn't bad. The air was clear and cool. But the moment they realized where they were, screams erupted.
How foolish to think that because Guffin's Gate was on the ground, they would emerge on the ground.
They were floating in the sky, higher than the clouds. At an altitude from which they could see from one end of the sea to the other.
The mages cast teleportation, but it was in vain. Still under the influence of Guffin's Gate, they plummeted toward the ground faster than a free fall.
The sea receded, and a dense forest came into view.
In the distance, Shirone spotted a city standing in the center of the forest. It was identical to the one he had seen in Miro's spacetime.
It was a castle surrounded by two concentric circles like ripples, with the area inside the inner circle divided into six pie-like sections.
Machines resembling ladybugs were flying in the sky. The thought that it resembled a human brain briefly crossed his mind.
As their altitude dropped, the city disappeared from view, and they finally crashed into the forest. Breaking through the canopy, they saw the ground. If they smashed into it like this, it would be instant death.
They tried to use magic, but it was impossible. Only when the pebbles rolling on the ground were within retinal view did Guffin's Gate finally release them.
Heaven's Outskirts. Purgatory.
Shirone didn't even have time to look around; he immediately felt his head. Having fallen face-first, his head should have been smashed to pieces.
He thought he might have lost consciousness for a split second, but in any case, when he came to, he was standing on his own two feet without a single injury.
Tess said, examining her body all over.
“Are we alive? Or are we dead?”
“I think we're alive. Seeing as I'm hungry.”
Saying he was hungry even in a situation like this was a testament to Rian's boldness, but in reality, he was trying to reassure Tess.
“Maybe we didn't actually fall from the sky.”
Shirone explained, putting his expertise to use.
“It's like spatial teleportation. We simply came here through a tunnel, and it seems we saw various landscapes as space folded.”
In the end, it was spatial teleportation. It was just a strange phenomenon that occurred because the distance traveled was beyond common sense.